NRW.BANK Issues €100M Blockchain Bond on Polygon Network

NRW.BANK, a prominent German state-owned development bank, has issued a €100 million blockchain-based bond on the Polygon network. This issuance marks a significant milestone in the adoption of digital securities within the public sector. The bond, with a two-year maturity, was issued under Germany’s Electronic Securities Act (eWpG), which allows for the issuance and registration of bonds entirely on blockchain networks, eliminating the need for physical certificates. This move underscores the growing confidence in blockchain technology for regulated capital markets.

The bond was registered using the infrastructure of Cashlink Technologies, a BaFin-licensed crypto securities registrar, with Polygon serving as the underlying blockchain. Institutional investors such as Deutsche Bank, DZ BANK, and DekaBank participated in the offering, acting as joint lead managers. Michael Duttlinger, CEO of Cashlink, highlighted the significance of this issuance, stating that it signals a readiness among public financial institutions to move beyond blockchain pilots and start integrating these systems at scale.

The issuance of this bond is not only a technical achievement but also a legal one. Germany’s eWpG law, introduced in 2021, has provided a clear legal framework for the use of distributed ledger technology in securities. This has attracted banks and public institutions toward tokenized finance, although the size of digital bond activity is still small compared to the traditional bond market. The bond issuance coincides with Polygon’s preparation for a major technical upgrade, Heimdall 2.0, which aims to reduce finality time to just five seconds and enhance network resilience by minimizing the likelihood of chain reorganizations. This upgrade is part of Polygon’s strategic pivot under the leadership of Sandeep Nailwal, who has consolidated control of the Polygon Foundation and is refocusing on core verticals, including real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and stablecoin payments.

The bond issuance on Polygon highlights the growing maturity of blockchain infrastructure underpinning tokenized finance. Digital bonds offer advantages such as real-time tracking, faster settlement, and reduced administrative overhead, which are now attracting public-sector issuers. This move by NRW.BANK is part of a broader trend in Germany, where major institutions are embracing blockchain technology. Recent digital bond issuances by institutions such as DZ BANK, DekaBank, Commerzbank, KfW, and Siemens indicate the country’s accelerating adoption of tokenized securities. Beyond banking, traditional banking sectors are also deepening their engagement with crypto, with Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe planning to introduce crypto trading services to its customers by mid-2026. This move is coordinated through DekaBank and will allow retail clients to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether directly within the group’s mobile banking app. The German Savings Banks Association confirmed the development, framing it as a response to the recently implemented EU Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

This landmark action is a giant leap in European banking industry. The transfer demonstrates the increasing trend with tokenized assets in conventional finance. The combination of blockchain technology in conventional finance has indicated its capacity in raising the effectiveness and safety. Transparency and impossibility of amending blockchain can give an additional confidence in the process of issuing and settling bonds. Moreover, the efficiencies of time and cost brought by adoption of such platforms as Polygon are considerably beneficial compared to those of conventional financial systems. The blockchain bond of NRW.BANK at a size of 100M is not only a benchmark on the European capital market in general but also on the bank itself. The use of blockchain in financial services will also continue to grow as more financial institutions play around with a tokenized asset. This movement is not the only one in its kind of blockchain technology and digital securities embracement by institutions. Blockchain technology may enter traditional finance as one of its standard bearers with the possible help of regulations, such as the German eWpG.